Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / September 6 - Isaiah 35

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September 6 - Isaiah 35 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is a Wednesday, It is
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  the 6th of September. We are well into spring, and it
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  is so good that you have sprung as well as spring.
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  Welcome. So good to have your company
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  today as we continue walking through this treacherous path
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  through Isaiah and yesterday's reading.
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  My goodness, Chapter 34 was a shocker, wasn't it?
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  It is so full of doom and gloom and judgment and murder and
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  slaughter. It can feel a little bit hard,
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  but this is how they wrote in that time and place in the
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  world. And it doesn't mean that
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  literally the stars will fall from the sky and literally every
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  man and every child will be murdered in cold blood.
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  This is the dramatic over exaggerated style of
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  communicating what complete victory over an enemy looks
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  like, and it's certainly very colorful.
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  And today we go to the opposite end of the spectrum.
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  Today is all about restoration after the destruction of
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  yesterday. And today there will be
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  incredibly generous language used about the the totality of
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  what God will do in restoring his people and restoring his
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  creation. So this is a lot more hopeful
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  and we don't mind hearing, you know, way over the top
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  statements of restoration. It it seems much more pleasant
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  to hear them than the other end. So we made it through yesterday.
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  Now we can settle into some talk of what God does in the wake of
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  things going wrong. God is a God of restoration.
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  So let's enjoy this chapter together.
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  It's not a long one. So we will savor it every one of
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  these 10 verses. So let's read together Isaiah
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  chapter 35. Even the wilderness and desert
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  will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and
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  blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance
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  of flowers and singing and joy. The deserts will become as green
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  as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the
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  plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his
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  glory, the splendor of our God. With this news strengthen those
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  who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak
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  knees. Say to those the fearful hearts,
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  be strong and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy
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  your enemies. He is coming to save you.
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  And when He comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug
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  the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer,
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  and those who cannot speak will sing for joy.
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  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will
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  water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a
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  pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
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  Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert
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  jackals once lived, and a great Rd. will go through that once
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  deserted land. It will be named the Highway of
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  holiness. Evil minded people will never
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  travel on it. It will be only for those who
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  walk in God's ways. Fools will never walk there.
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  Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious
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  beasts. There will be no other dangers.
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  Only the redeemed will walk on it.
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  Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
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  They will enter Jerusalem singing crowned with everlasting
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  joy. Sorrow and mourning will
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  disappear and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
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  Thank you that you are a creative God who is so good.
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  You know, we often think of remaking things like a house
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  renovation Lord, where we're painting over and knocking out
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  and replacing this bit and that bit.
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  But you are a God of creation. When you want something to be
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  new, you make it new from scratch, from the inside out,
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  from the very heart of the being.
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  You can recreate things to be perfect.
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  Thank you that you don't just apply that to the recreation in
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  terms of the mountains and the fields, but you apply that to
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  us. Oh Lord, we just claim your
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  promise of recreation and all the broken bits in us.
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  They don't need to be renovated, They don't need to be chipped
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  away at. We need your creative life,
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  giving energy through everything that Jesus has done for us to be
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  able to recreate us brand new in your image.
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  So we pray for your recreation every day, that you would
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  recreate our hearts to be in you more like yours, and our spirits
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  to reflect the gifts that you give us.
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  Thank you for being a loving, creative and energetic God.
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  We just praise you and thank you.
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  And it's in the name of Jesus, through whom all of this is
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  possible, that we pray. Amen.